By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Repoter
The Human Rights Campaign announced that it was endorsing Democratic candidate Doug Jones for U.S. Senate.
Jones is running against former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore (R). Judge Moore has often clashed with the gay rights group over the years.
“Doug Jones has pledged to serve all Alabamians, including LGBTQ people,” said Eva Kendrick, HRC Alabama state director. “In this election, the choice between Roy Moore and Doug Jones could not be more stark. Moore has never passed up an opportunity to promote bigotry, division and extremism, while Doug Jones has staked his career on fairness, equality and a positive vision for Alabama’s future. HRC is proud to endorse Doug Jones and work to help him become the next U.S. Senator from the state of Alabama.”
“I have fought for the rights of all Alabamians and all Americans my entire career and will continue to do so as U.S. senator,” Doug Jones said. “We must continue to push for equality and fight hate and discrimination in all forms.”
The HRC said in their announcement that in 2016, HRC Alabama initiated the #nomoore campaign to remove Moore from the Alabama Supreme Court for failing to issue an order to the states probate judges to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Following a review by the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission, Moore was suspended from the bench without pay for his actions.
The HRC said in their statement that despite Judge Moore’s, “Assertion that he was only opposing marriage equality as a legal matter, his subsequent comments about the LGBTQ community have revealed a deep, underlying animus toward LGBTQ Alabamians.” “Moore’s past is full of anti-LGBTQ comments and actions, and it is clear that this will not change if he is elected to the U.S. Senate,” they stated.
“In today’s world, politicians from both sides of the aisle never talk about morality. They never talk about healing the heart by bringing back God, because we’ve lost that connection. We can turn that around, and Make America Great Again, but first we need to Make America Good Again!” Judge Moore said on social media.
Most conservative Christians believe that any homosexual act is an unnatural act and thus a perversion of human sexuality and an act of rebellion against God and His natural law, upon which human law they believe should be based.
Doug Jones was a Clinton-era U.S. Attorney best remembered for his successful prosecution of the men believed to be responsible for the 1963 Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four little girls. Since leaving the U.S. Department of Justice, Jones has practiced as an attorney in the Birmingham area.
The special election to replace Jeff Sessions in the U.S. Senate is on Dec. 12, 2017.
Alabama has not elected any Democrat to the Senate since 1992 – Richard Shelby – who switched parties two years later. Jones is trailing Judge Moore by eight points in the last two polls taken in the race.
